taken 8 months ago, near to Lower Woodend, Buckinghamshire, Great Britain

A group of three Military Orchids (Orchis militaris) along with a single Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) in Homefield Wood, a Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust nature reserve, perhaps best known for being one of only three sites in the country for the Military Orchid. Having been thought to have become extinct in the UK, it was rediscovered here in 1947 by the renowned botanist J E Lousley, but because of its rarity the location was kept secret for over 30 years. However a combination of habitat conservation, "caging" to protect from deer and rabbits and hand pollination led to an increasing population, with a total of 722 plants on this reserve counted in 2016. The flowers here were past their peak, with the lower flowers already having gone to seed, but the upper ones were still clearly identifiable (see SU8186 : Military Orchid (Orchis militaris) for close up).